Volunteering for a Greater Boston

Annual Awards: Career Readiness Partners’ Collective Impact

At the Boston Cares Annual Awards on October 24th, we honored exceptional individual and group volunteers, valued corporate partners, and innovative non-profit partner organizations. For guests and even honorees, the evening often serves as an informational overview of the breadth and depth of Boston Cares’ scope. Of course, we love when our volunteers, partners, and decision-makers discover new aspects of Boston Cares. This year, though, there was a specific message we wanted heard at the Awards: volunteering is a means to work together for the common good.

A few of our valued ESOL partners at the 14th Annual Awards. From left: Molly April and Claudia Green, English for New Bostonians; Jacqueline Lara and Manilo Mendez, NOAH; Mike Oliver, St. Mark’s Community Education Program

That spirit may be best exhibited by our Community Partner Collective Impact Award, given to organizations dedicated to career readiness. Why career readiness? Often, individuals and families struggling with hunger and homelessness also face long-term concerns such as insufficient access to education, career training, and job opportunities that would allow sustained self-sufficiency. Seventeen Career Readiness partners at Boston Cares are striving to mitigate these underlying issues, making it easier for people to help themselves.

In one calendar year, Boston Cares volunteers serving seventeen organizations improved the lives of 2,700 Bostonians fighting the odds to access education, develop skills, and find gainful employment. A few of our partners are featured in the Collective Impact video below, but each of the honorees specializes in at least one of the following areas: Opportunity Youth, ServiceWorks, Adult Education, and ESOL.

Connecting these initiatives to Career Readiness is straightforward. Supporting youth employment and service initiatives better prepares young people for future work. Adult Education partners offer interview coaching, computer literacy training, HiSET tutoring, and other resources necessary to succeed in the job market. And for thousands of foreign-born Boston residents, the largest obstacle to better employment odds and higher incomes is English proficiency.

While Boston is a nexus of higher education and prosperity, many residents have been left behind. Our volunteers, through our Career Readiness partners, have dedicated their efforts to help those individuals move forward. If you also want to help your fellow Bostonians help themselves, there are plenty of ways to get involved through our Calendar program, volunteering with ServiceWorks, or committing to one of our Corps programs! As our many Career Readiness partners have proven this year, together we make a significant difference.

While Boston is a nexus of higher education and prosperity, many residents have been left behind. Our volunteers, through our Career Readiness partners, have dedicated their efforts to help those individuals move forward. If you also want to help your fellow Bostonians help themselves, there are plenty of ways to get involved through our Calendar program, volunteering with ServiceWorks, or committing to one of our Corps programs! As our many Career Readiness partners have proven this year, together we make a significant difference.